KNIGHT WATCH

ARE THERE CURES FOR GROWING PAINS?

2009-12-10T05:31:48-08:00

According to a study of more than 2,500 toddlers published in the journal “Child Development”, spanking may be harmful to both behavior and mental development, having long-lasting effects. Toddlers don’t understand enough about right and wrong or punishment. One-year-olds who were spanked tended to behave more aggressively at age 2 and didn’t perform as well at age 3 on a test measuring thinking skills. Parents who spank are more likely to be younger, less educated, single, depressed and/or stressed. Parents who were spanked are most likely to spank. Unfortunately, it becomes do unto others as they did unto you.

According to Harvard research, few states require child-care providers to meet specific requirements for nutrition and physical activity necessary for fitness. This contributes to the fact that one-fifth of four-year-olds representing all demographics are obese. Because approximately three-fourths of children ages 2 to 5 spend at least part of their day in child care, that care has to change. As of January 2009 Delaware, Georgia, Alaska and Nevada had made the most changes in child-care licensing requirements. Idaho and Louisiana had made the least. The other 44 states fell somewhere in between – which is an unhealthy state for America’s preschoolers.

According to a first-of-its-kind study done at the University of Illinois, classmate putdowns make it harder for good students to learn and for not-so-good students to catch up. Using U.S. Department of Education data on more than 10,000 sophomores in more than 650 high schools, 20% said they were verbally putdown by other students. Although boys experience putdowns more than girls and African American students who consider themselves good students experience putdowns most, the problem exists in both public and private schools. One thing students shouldn’t have to learn in school is how to put up with putdowns.

According to 2 studies published in “Pediatrics”, teenagers with their own car or free use of a car are much likelier to crash than teenagers who share a car. Of more than 2,000 teenagers studied, teens who had to ask for keys, had specific driving rules and had their whereabouts monitored had half as many crashes. They were also 71% less likely to drive drunk and 30% less likely to use a cell phone while driving. Car crashes are the #1 cause of death for American teenagers, killing more than 5,000 every year. Seemingly, parental involvement is the key to safe teenage driving.

IS CHANGE ANOTHER WORD FOR PROGRESS?

2009-12-08T07:00:26-08:00

As times change, so do companies. In 1806 William Colgate founded a company to make soap, candles and starch. Colgate toothpaste wasn’t made until 1873. In 1837 John Deere was a frustrated blacksmith in Grand Detour, Illinois trying to make plows that cut through the area’s clay. When he started to make his plows with cast steel, he started the John Deere Equipment Company. In 1866 David McConnell sold books door-to-door. To appeal to women customers he offered free perfume. When the perfume became more popular than the books, McConnell founded the California Perfume Company – which became Avon. Change changes us.

By the end of 2011 the Coca-Cola Company plans a change – to put nutrition facts – what Coca-Cola calls “energy information” – on the front of almost all its packaging worldwide. This change is in response to the public wanting this information easily visible and to the American Heart Association adding sugar to its list of heart hazards. The AHA recommends women have no more than 100 calories from added sugar a day and that men limit those calories to 150. A 12-ounce can of Classic Coca-Cola contains 140 calories. Things might go better with Coke – just not so much.

A few years ago activist/entrepreneur, Jeff Berman, told farmers in Dove Creek, Colorado that he would build a plant to convert sunflower seeds to biodiesel if they would grow the sunflowers. Convinced there was more money per acre in sunflowers than in beans and wheat, farmers were growing thousands of acres by 2008 and the plant was under construction. That’s when federal subsidies for biofuels ended. Berman’s plans had to change. Instead of biofuel, the sunflower seeds make food-grade sunflower oil. Nevertheless, hulls and pieces of plant material are turned into gas to help power the plant. Both sunflowers and hope continue to grow.

Even Australia’s male southern brown tree frogs have had to change. The increase in urban traffic noise is drowning out their mating calls, causing a sharp decline in their population. In some areas the distance a mating call can be heard has dropped from hundreds of meters to 20-50 meters. To increase the distance they can be heard, the males have learned to change their calls to a higher pitch. Unfortunately, female frogs associate a higher pitch with a smaller or younger, less experienced frog. What’s needed is female frogs willing to take a leap of faith.

ARE WE "PETICULAR" ABOUT PETS?

2009-12-05T05:00:00-08:00

Veterinarians are reporting dogs and cats are living longer – some for more than 15 years. Dogs’ longevity is directly related to breed size. Toy breeds live longest (12-14 years). Giant breeds live the shortest time (6-8 years). However, mixed breeds tend to live longer than pure breeds. In estimating a dog’s age 1 dog year equals 12 people years, 2 dog years equal 24 people years and every dog year after that equals 4 people years. Thus a 12-year-old dog would be 64 people years. As for cats, any well-cared-for, indoor cat is likely to reach the late teens or early twenties – counting all 9 lives.

Unfortunately, veterinarians are also reporting they are treating an increasing number of dogs that have eaten xylitol. Xylitol is in the fibers of many fruits and vegetables – including various berries, corn husks, mushrooms and oats. It’s a natural sugar alcohol used as a sugar substitute, especially in gum. Supposedly it’s good for teeth, diabetes, osteoporosis and infection – but it’s not good for pets. For pets it has a life-threatening toxicity that can cause liver failure. Symptoms of xylitol poisoning include vomiting and a weak, wobbly appearance, requiring immediate treatment. Obviously, pet owners should treat xylitol-containing products with dogged attention to avoid cat-astrophes.

To get the attention of pet owners a campaign by the Los Angeles County District attorney featured a picture of a dog in an oven. It’s a reminder that it’s against the law to leave animals in hot cars. A car’s interior can reach 100 degrees when it’s 72 degrees outside. Dogs have body temperatures of 101-102.5 degrees. Body temperatures of 107-108 degrees can cause brain damage and death. Leaving a pet in a hot car is a misdemeanor with up to 6 months in jail. If the pet dies, it’s a felony with up to 3 years in state prison. This should be dogma.

And then there’s Scarlett’s Magic. She holds the Guinness Record as the world’s tallest pet cat – 17.1 inches. SM, however, isn’t an ordinary housecat. She’s a F1 Savannah – a cross between a domesticated breed and an African Serval – a medium-sized wild cat sharing common traits with cheetahs. Although F1 Savannahs are the closest thing to wild cats allowed as pets in most states, SM’s owners say she has the “charm of a domesticated cat”. Because cubs cost $5,000-$50,000, F1 Savannah cats might not catapult to popularity immediately.

MARCHING TO A DIFFERENT DRUMMER?

2009-12-03T13:55:01-08:00

Edna St. Vincent Millay, the poet, and Margaret Mead, the anthropologist, both were previous owners of the house at 75 ½ Bedford Street in Greenwich Village, New York. The 3-story, red brick building was built in 1873 and supposedly has plenty of light supplied by large windows in front and back, as well as a skylight. The current owner bought the house in 2000 for $1.6 million. In 2009 it was for sale for $2.7 million. Because the house is only 9.5 feet wide and 42 feet long, like its previous owners, you can’t be small-minded if you live there.

Joey Chestnut was the winner of 2009’s Fried Dumpling Eating Contest, part of the annual Japanese Festival in Los Angeles. The object of the contest is to eat as many dumplings as possible in 10 minutes. Chestnut ate 181. This was his third, consecutive win at this event, beating his 2008 score by 41 dumplings. Chestnut is a professional competitive eater. He’s rated #1 by the International Federation of Competitive Eating. Chestnut also won Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2009. Joey “Jaws” Chestnut doesn’t bite off more than he can chew.

John Schnatter sold his prized gold-and-black 1971 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 for $2800 in 1983. Part of the money helped save his father’s tavern. Schnatter used the rest to start the Papa John’s pizza chain. Always regretting having sold his muscle car, Schnatter offered a $250,000 reward for it. The original buyers found out about the search when Schnatter was interviewed on national television and they helped find the man they had sold it to for $4,000 five years before. That man got the $250,000, the original buyers got $25,000 for their help and in 2009 Schnatter got the symbol of his “drive to success”.

Antonio Cristofaro is a reputed Italian mafia boss. When the police searched his home outside Naples for weapons, they found a crocodile on the terrace. The 5.5 foot, 88 pound crocodile was identified as a caiman, found in Latin America and protected under the Washington Convention, which regulates trade of endangered animals. Because caimans can easily bite off a leg, they are considered too dangerous to be pets; but Cristofaro was using his to extort money. Cristofaro was charged with illegal possession of an animal and the crocodile was moved to an animal center, as the police took a bite out of crime.